Objective: To assess the perceptions of parents about constraint-induced movement therapy to treat their children with cerebral palsy.
Methods: The qualitative study was conducted in three rehabilitation centres situated in Lahore, Pakistan, from January to July 2014, and comprised parents with enough experience of constraint-induced movement therapy. Therapy session was given to children with hemiplegic spastic cerebral palsy for 4 5 hours per day for at least a month. The interview was recorded and then transcribed verbatim.
Results: There were 5 sets of parents whose children were aged 4-12 years. Five main themes emerged from the interviews and they were: child behaviour towards the therapy is variable; increase in cognitive level of the child; group therapy is more beneficial than individual therapy; after therapy the children developed a habit to use the affected hand in their activities; and other than change in the physical condition, parents also observed change in the social behaviour.
Conclusions: Constraint-induced movement therapy seemed to offer a promising opportunity to tackle and promote both social and physical outcomes in cerebral palsy children.
Keywords: Child, Cerebral palsy, Constraint induced movement therapy, Parent's observation, Group format, Qualitative research study..